


Blinded

by HomicidalHarley



Category: Naruto
Genre: Blindness, Drama, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Romance, SasuSaku - Freeform, Tragedy, Uchiha Sasuke-centric, blind
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-01 21:25:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10930344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomicidalHarley/pseuds/HomicidalHarley
Summary: Three years and a few months had passed since the traitorous departure of Sasuke Uchiha from the Hidden Leaf village, and hope of ever seeing him again is starting to waver for Team 7.That is, until Kakashi stumbles across a blind, injured and very familiar teenager on the way back from a mission.Watch as the Avenger is brought back to his former home, and struggles to comprehend the fact that his sight, and Sharingan, are both long gone.





	1. Unexpected Findings

Kakashi Hatake sat idly as he watched the sun peak its head out from behind the mountains orderly placed across the horizon. 

He could feel a cool, light breeze brushing past his masked face, causing the sound of rustling leaves to reach his ears as it blew into the dense trees a few feet to his right.

A jaded sigh left the silver-haired jounin as he got up from the damp grass and brushed his clothes off. He turned around to face their little campsite, seeing that his two teammates, Guy and Asuma, were both still fast asleep around the burnt-out remains of their campfire.

He thought about waking then up so that they could set out, but figured that there actually was no hurry in getting back to Konoha. They had successfully completed their mission, and were in no _immediate_ danger, so he deemed they deserved some extra rest after a job well done.

This also gave Kakashi some time to scout the area, not that it was _necessary_. He just didn't have anything better to do, seeing as he'd lost his _Icha Icha Paradise_ book somewhere along the path the day before, and was hoping to find it somewhere nearby.

There was no way Might and Asuma would waste time searching for a book when they're supposed to report to the Hokage by noon, so now was the perfect time to secretly go look for it whilst the other two shinobi enjoyed a few extra minutes of sleep.

If they were awake by the time he got back, he would have the excuse of scouting the area for traps or enemy ninja, or maybe just looking for something to eat as a quick, small breakfast.

Kakashi turned, and lazily stuck his gloved hands into his pockets as he headed out of the small clearing and entered the dense forest, fallen leaves and thin twigs snapping beneath his sandals as he walked at a leisurely pace.

This moment gave the copy ninja a chance to observe the area more meticulously. He seldom travelled to this part of the Fire country, and had never taken the time to observe the area until now.

He had to admit, it was quite a marvelous site. Some trees were bearing many ripe, colorful fruits in between their large, green leaves, whilst others were covered in beautiful, pink flowers. What were those called again? Ah, right! _Cherry Blossoms._ How could he forget?

As a brief image of his pink-haired student flashed through his mind, he lifted a hand to catch a falling petal from one of the Sakura trees. 

He turned the delicate flower over in his palm to look at it closely. It was mostly a light, soothing pink, but the edges were faintly tainted by a bright, reddish color. The two different shades faded into each other perfectly.

He kept looking at it for merely another second or two before tilting his hand to the side, watching briefly as the petal slowly fluttered down to join its fallen companions on the green grass surrounding the beautiful tree's trunk.

The silver-haired copy ninja stepped around the piles of baby pink flowers to avoid crushing any of it, and kept walking through the dense forest, the canopy of leafy-green trees above limiting the amount of sunlight that lit up the half-visible path in front of him.

The trees weren't so dense as to make it too dark for him to see clearly, but he guessed that when it rained, the water would have a difficult time getting to the grass below. It was fortunate that this part of the country was known for its particularly wet weather.

Kakashi perked up slightly when he heard the pleasant swishing sound of water flowing and splashing on rocks nearby. He remembered seeing the blue landmark of a waterfall on the map back at the campsite, and turned on his heels to head in the direction of the distinct sound. At this point, he'd already forgotten about his lost book and was merely continuing to explore the scenic forest, enjoying the feeling of harmony nature gave him.

The bell-beat flapping of wings, both small and large, could be heard from above, accompanied by the harmonic melodies of birds singing in unison as a bright glint became visible in the distance. Kakashi immediately recognized the glint as the sun shining down on clear water.

He kept moving forward, side-stepping a tree or small plant here and there until he reached the mossy bank of the river. The body of water was clear, bright and mirroring a partly-cloudy, still sky.

There was a small waterfall situated to the right of his current position, thin streams of water seeping through the rocky curve of the cliff and crashing down into the connecting river below. 

The Jounin didn't pay much attention to the cascading waterfall at first, and knelt down on the bank, not seeming too bothered when his sandals partially sunk into the soft, damp ground and squishy mud coated the edges of his toes.

He removed his left glove before putting his hand in the lukewarm water, watching as little, colorful groups of fish darted away out of fear.

The scaly marine-creatures moved too fast for him to actually identify the different types swimming away from him, but seeing as they were fleeing out of terror rather than attacking the hand intruding on their home, he deemed them harmless.

Kakashi kept his hand submerged under the surface for another few minutes, his expression making him seem rather lost in thought.

A soft, scuffling sound could suddenly be heard from his right, making him tense again and snap his head in the direction of the noise. He squinted slightly at the rushing water cascading down the cliff, vaguely being able to make out the outlines of a thin, blurry blob behind the waterfall. A person, most likely.

From his point of view, it looked like they were lying on their side, faced towards the back of the little cave hidden behind the falling water. He could swear he saw some blotches of red covering parts of the blob.

He got up from the riverbank, and silently removed a recently sharpened kunai from his pouch, holding it in front of himself in a defensive position as he slowly inched towards the waterfall, his sandals making a very faint squishing sound in the sticky mud.

The person stayed unmoving as Kakashi approached. 

Once the masked shinobi reached his destination, he tightened his grip on the kunai and ducked into the small cave, moving fast enough to not get soaked by the water diving down at him from the cliff above.

The figure was lying merely a few feet away from him now, so he was able to get a pretty good look at it.

His keen eye observed the person from bottom to top, taking note of the dark blue cloth tied around their waist with a thick, purple rope. He would have thought it to be Orochimaru if he had looked quickly and judged only by what they wore around their waist.

It was obviously a young male, seeing as his top half was adorning a tattered, white shirt that clearly displayed his toned chest. Either that, or it was just a really flat-chested girl, but for now, he would dare to assume that it was a man.

Parts of the white material covering his upper body was stained by a dark red. It didn't take long for Kakashi to realize that it was blood when a sharp, metallic smell brushed past his nostrils. 

He walked closer and knelt down behind the injured person, tucking his kunai away in his pocket, seeing as there was no current danger.

There was the vague outline of a crest on the back of the man's shirt, but it was too tattered and bloodied to make out.

Kakashi reached over to gently press two fingers against the young man's neck, seeming relieved when he felt the faint pulse of a weakening heartbeat. He was alive, but not for much longer.

He sighed before lifting a hand to press a button on the comm in his ear. A resounding, low beep was heard before Asuma's voice filtered through the device, _"Kakashi? Where are you?"_

"I'm a way to the north of the campsite, behind the small waterfall we saw on the map."

_"What are you doing-"_

Kakashi cut him off to avoid unnecessary chatter,"I've found an injured male. He seems to be in his late teens and needs immediate medical attention. Get here as fast as you can."

He shut the comm off before Asuma could reply, and reached forward to touch the teenager's neck again. Still alive.

He shifted his gaze up a bit to pay attention to the stranger's face. 

The man's raven hair was covering most of his face, the thick bangs caked in blood, probably due to a concealed facial injury.

Barely a minute passed before he heard Might Guy's voice bellowing through the trees a few yards away.

"Just in time..." His tone was hushed as he spoke to the unconscious man, knowing full-well that his words could not be heard.

He reached up to gently brush the locks of hair out of the way so that he could get a good look at his face.

Though, a mere split-second passed before his one visible eye widened in shock, partly because it looked like someone had taken a blade and brutally _slashed_ it across the youth's eyes, but mostly because the young male looked painfully familiar.

"...Sasuke?"

 


	2. Chapter 2

A loud, irritating slurp was heard as Naruto sucked up the last bit of ramen left in his bowl before lifting his hand up to catch Ichiraku's attention, intending on ordering yet another dish.

Sakura was quietly sitting next to her blond teammate, thoughtfully picking at the small pieces of meat floating around in her bowl. She was only half-way done with her first dish whilst Naruto had just finished his third.

"How can you stomach all that ramen without getting sick from it?" The pinkette asked as another large bowl was placed in front of the whiskered blond.

Naruto answered with a muffled  _'humgf'_ , using the chopsticks to stuff his mouth with his favorite food.

Sakura sighed, and set her chopsticks down on the table, having lost her appetite.

Naruto seemed to notice this, and swallowed before turning to look at her,"You okay, Sakura-chan?"

The green-eyes kunoichi stuck a reluctant smile on her face and nodded, pushing her bowl over to the boy,"You can have mine. I'm not hungry anymore."

This gesture caused Naruto's look of concern do disappear and he almost immediately turned to start eating again,"Thanks!"

Sakura turned on her seat to gaze upon the semi-deserted street in front of the small ramen shop. It was nearing dusk, so most of the villagers had gone home, safe for a few young adults sauntering through the streets in small social groups, probably trying to find good places to party the night away.

Her attention shifted up to the darkening sky above. It was currently a beautiful mix of pink, orange and dark blue. The sun was already beneath the horizon and a few stars were starting to make their presence known to the world by blinking brightly in the distance.

A light shiver wracked the kunoichi's frame and she instinctively rubbed her arms when a cold breeze blew past them. She could see Naruto stiffening out of the corner of her eye, the hair on his neck standing on end as he zipped up his jacket in an effort to stay warm.

"I think I'm going to head home. It's getting late."

Naruto finished his food with another loud slurp before turning to face his pink-haired teammate again,"Already? But we said we'd wait here for Kakashi-sensei. We haven't eaten ramen together in forever, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura shook her head and scooted off her seat, her shows hitting the ground with a light click,"Kakashi-sensei was supposed to be back by noon, Naruto. He's probably-"

"Hey, guys."

Naruto and Sakura turned their heads in time to see a tired-looking Kakashi making his way towards them, his shoulders laid back in a lazy position as walked with his hands tucked away in his pockets. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to have his favorite book with him.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're late!" 

The silver-haired copy ninja's one visible eye creased slightly and he seemed to be smiling under the mask.

He removed one hand from his pocket and lifted it up to flick Naruto's forehead protector when he got too close, resulting in the blond responding with a surprised flinch,"Hey!"

"Sorry, you two. I found a lost cat on the way back from the mission and had to get it home first." He replied, voice cool and sounding slightly smug.

Barely a minute passed before Naruto burst out,"Yeah, right! You were probably reading-"

"Sakura."

Sakura's head snapped up when Kakashi interrupted Naruto by saying her name. She furrowed her brows curiously when her sensei turned to face her,"What is it, Kakashi-sensei?"

"The Hokage wants you to head to the hospital immediately."


	3. Chapter 3

The familiar smell of disinfectant and fresh blood invaded Sakura's senses as she quietly sauntered down the busy halls of the hospital, having to dodge a few impatient medics and nurses rushing past her with clipboards and medical supplies.

She turned on her heels at the end of the hall to head in the direction of the waiting room the receptionist at the front desk told her to go to.

A million possible reasons for the Hokage summoning her ran through her head. It could be a number of things, but she suspected that it probably had to do with her studies.

A faint sense of hesitation rised up in her mind as she reached the room and placed a hand on the metal doorhandle. What if it was something serious?

"Sakura."

The pink-haired kunoichi opened the wooden door to see Tsunade sitting on a chair at the other end of the room, a large scroll spread out across the coffee table in front of her.

The Hokage glanced up for a brief moment to acknowledge her student before motioning to a vacant chair on the other side of the small table,"I'm assuming Kakashi told you to come?"

Sakura responded with a light nod as she moved forward to sit down on the chair, only now noticing that Shizune was in the room as well, quietly standing near the door with the pig in her arms.

"Kakashi-sensei wouldn't tell me what this was about." She said as she leaned back in the chair.

Tsunade closed the scroll when the girl sat down,"Good. He told me Naruto would be there too. I don't want that boy finding out about this now. He'll come barging into the hospital and needlessly disturb the other patients by causing a ruckus."

Sakura furrowed her brows in concern at this statement,"Did someone we know get hurt?"

The Hokage rested her elbows on the table and propped her chin up on one hand, expression grim,"Well...yes-"

"What? Who?!" Sakura bit her lip and sunk down on her seat with an apologetic expression when she realized she cut her teacher off.

Tsunade didn't seem to mind all that much. Her impatience was understood, after all.

"Sakura...On their way back from their escort mission, Kakashi and his team found an injured, teenage boy along the path and brought him back to the hospital."

"Teenage...boy?" Sakura slowly straightened up,"What did he look like?"

"Black, medium-length hair, pale skin-"

"Sai?" The pinkette sat up straight in a rigid position, panic evident on her face.

Tsunade merely shook her head, "Not Quite..."

Sakura visibly relaxed again,"Who was it then?"

"Sakura...they found Sasuke."

Almost instantly, but somewhat unsurprisingly, Sakura was rigid again, green eyes wide as she gripped the armrests on either side of her tightly. She was up within the next few seconds, whirling around on her heels and heading for the door at great speed.

Unfortunately, she was halted in her stride when Shizune stepped in front of her, blocking the doorway and preventing her from leaving. Sakura moved from side to side, but the woman wouldn't let her get past.

"Let me go see him!" She demanded, turning back around to face her teacher.

"Sakura-" The Hokage's voice was stern,"-Sit. Down."

The pink-haired kunoichi let out a soft sound of irritation, but walked back to her seat anyway.

Another exasperated sigh left the blonde woman in front of her,"You will be allowed to go see Sasuke in a moment...but there's something I have to tell you before you walk in there."

The angry expression on her student's face quickly morphed into that of concern,"How badly is he hurt?"

"...We were able to heal all his most life-threatening injuries, which were mostly situated on his abdomen, so he _is_ stable and will recover in time, but..."

"But, what?"

"Sasuke had suffered from a devastating facial injury, and we won't be able to reverse the damage it's done aside from healing the physical wound that caused it."

"...What do you mean?"

"...Sasuke's blind, Sakura."

"...What?"

 


End file.
